Christopher Coon
Professor Shingavi
UGS 303 Bollywood India and After
February 27, 2014
Research Paper
In the post-independence era of Indian cinema, nothing was discussed and/or debated about more than the prohibition of kissing in films. Although there was no formal ban of kissing that existed, it was based mostly on an “unwritten rule” that since kissing was seen as a sign of westerness (i.e. Hollywood films) to allow it in Bollywood films would dissolve Indian culture. However, author Madhava Prasad argues that kissing was banned not because of a presumed censorship of western codes, but instead because of a need to shore up the ideologies of the extended family and/or clan. In other words, Prasad believes that the ban on kissing is about securing the extended family and that the “preserve Indian culture” reasoning was just invented to justify the ban. I personally argue that Prasad’s argument is correct and plan to elaborate on it through the use of the Bollywood film Waqt.
To begin with, Prasad states that there are several ways films negotiate the prohibition on kissing on screen, the first being to “stage the prohibition itself.” An example of this would be when lovers move towards each other for a kiss and then suddenly, the camera fades away and prevents, not the actual kiss itself, but the viewer from seeing it occur. The second way of negotiating the prohibition Prasad argues is to “thematize the prohibition as a cultural truth and duty” (Prasad 80). Prasad believes that by doing this, one would be inscribing the prohibition within the represented content, rather than treating it as a political act of curtailment (Prasad 90). Prasad’s third and final way that one could negotiate the prohibition of kissing is ...
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...ationships, rather than the couple themselves. For example, if a couple were to kiss in a film, many viewers would suddenly believe that the couples’ relationship is much more important than any other familial relationship. This is why the director does not allow the Ravi and Meena to kiss in Waqt because he wanted to emphasize that although the couple might have strong feelings for each other, the overall objective for the film that involves the family reuniting in the end is much more important. This is why many Bollywood films end with the family and/or couple joining the extended family rather than leaving it. Lastly in Bollywood films such as Waqt, the extended family represents a marker of stability and ritual (Muzumdar 212). It serves as the only source of identity for some individuals and as most people know, without identity, one simply cannot survive.
During the time in the 1950’s, the escalation of mass media with the use of television shows had greatly emphasized the idealist family standards: a white nuclear family standard of living within conventional gender roles that stresses on family hierarchy that became a societal norm as a “perfect family” today. In Gary Soto’s “Looking for Work” and Roger Jack’s “An Indian Story”, bother short stories contest against familial customs. Soto describes how the media shapes the idea of a “family” to the young narrator that inspires him to push his family and himself to assimilate into the while culture. Roger conveys a story of a young Indian boy defying against both his Indian and familial ethics. Together, these stories share a common theme. Both
In this paper I will attempt to discover how cultural differences affect communication in two movies of differing cultures. I will keep the names of the characters formal for both movies and for the Indian movie I will translate their lines to English directly. The first movie is of the Indian culture entitled Quayamat Se Quayamat Tak, which roughly translates to “From Armageddon Till Armageddon.” This has a classic Romeo and Juliet theme. I will focus on what I consider are the three main relationships in this movie: 1) Raj, the main male character, and Reshmi, the main female character, 2) Raj and his family, and 3) Reshmi and her family. The second movie is of the African American culture entitled Boomerang. This is in essence about a lady’s man who is in search for a perfect woman. Along the way to finding Miss Right he romances other women and as soon as he finds who he believes is the right one, she romances him. I’ve chosen three main relationships from this movie as well: 1) Marcus, the main male character, and Angela, the women he ends up falling in love with, 2) Marcus and Jacqueline, the female he believes is the perfect women, and 3) Marcus and his friends Gerard and Tyler. This essay will discuss how the friends of each movie communicate with each other, what good and bad communication behaviors they have, compare and contrast the relationships depicted in the movies, talk about how the theories of friendship in the course text apply to the friendships in the movies, converse about how each film portrays the culture of the characters, and lastly discuss what each film says about the communication habits of their respective cultures.
In chapter six the Mark Liechty discusses how film and video viewing effected consumption and class distinction. In the 1990’s Kathmandu entered the mass-media age. Cinema and video games had an enormous influence on the middle class. Not only watching films at the cinema produced consumption, cinematic media products were brought to markets for sale. Importing of video technology occurred for the first time in 1978 and there were mass production. Having cinematic technology such as the VCR in the home signaled an individual’s status, gender, and age. The 1970’s were co...
Showcasing a strong tie between plot and character background strengthened the foundation of each character and made them more relatable to the reader. The portrayal of the families and their dysfunction shows that not every family is a picture-perfect example of what a typical family is but its unrealistic to believe that every family doesn’t have their own troubles and rocky patches but it’s the family’s dysfunction that in all builds the characters to who they are and what moved the plot forward in many ways and can be related to ones own
Just as Johnny Stecchino stated, “Kisses are for homosexuals and females” (Benigni, 1991), homosexuality is typically not seen as masculine or manly in the gangster genre, therefore Leone’s tone of homoeroticism between the two most powerful males in this film is an unusual one.
A traditional extended family living in Northern India can become acquainted through the viewing of Dadi’s family. Dadi, meaning grandmother in Hindu, lets us explore her family up close and personal as we follow the trials and tribulations the family encounters through a daily basis. The family deals with the span of three generations and their conflicting interpretations of the ideal family life. Dadi lets us look at the family as a whole, but the film opens our eyes particularly on the women and the problems they face. The film inspects the women’s battle to secure their status in their family through dealing with a patriarchal mentality. The women also are seen attempting to exert their power, and through it all we are familiarized to
Kissing has been shaped by our social norms and customs, because of the diversity around the world. Kissing is widely talked about in movies, holidays, songs, poems, marriages all around the world. In most movies, a kiss scene is highly popular, especially in romance movies. For example, The Notebook which is about a poor
...als of which we forge our notion what it means to be male or female” is becoming less applicable as many films are becoming less predictable and taking up challenging roles by allowing women to act as a more dominant character in order for the movies to succeed. Therefore, film does not constitute common culture, as movie makers will create fascinating stories out of what is actually happening in the society for the film to be exciting to watch for the audiences. The film may deliver or represents certain aspects and stereotypes of gender in the society but does not fully represent the society itself. As a result, every viewer would be left with their own thoughts and opinions without judging what the movie is presenting are totally right. Therefore, films do give people an insight about our society but it does not control the way people should behave in the society.
With the popularity of film culture experiencing a drastic increase, a large amount of what happens on screen is mirrored in our society. Movies can evoke thoughts and emotions that shape the average man’s ideals, sometimes even stirring up propaganda that pressures governments to create new laws.
However, the aspect of sexuality is largely concern with the way individuals express themselves sexually through physical, emotional and social feelings as well as behavior. The documentary clearly showcases that in Indian communities it is not all about a person’s sexuality and their concept of love but mainly about the common understanding shared in their society and the capability of a family to come together. At the beginning, the piece focuses on the Patel’s quest to for love. However, as the filming prolonged, it became more about commitment and compatibility. This depicts that the sexual orientation of Ravi Patel or any other member of this community should consider all aspects of the tradition and the family
Unrestrained female sexuality in popular media is regarded as something of a taboo. As a society, we are not used to the pleasure of women being portrayed on screen, despite our supposedly ‘equal’ society. Much of this is the inflection of sexism and the patriarchy, placed upon the minds of the masses, influencing the internalized discomfort of female sexuality. This, of course, does not apply towards male sexuality. Male sexuality is unrelenting and respected, even revered. These concepts of unrestrained sexuality, equal pleasure and lack of censoring have leached into one of the major sources of media in our society, which is the all encompassing film.
A life in erotic cinematic film also known as skinematography can become a rewarding career and punishing career. An example in pornography could be a camera and two people having sex it can sometimes be over a dozen people having sex. However people in today’s time keep in the shadows and say that pornography is something they hold equal to a painting of some of the greats, on the other side of the scale non-viewers of erotic films will say they are obscene trash and often view the common spectators as dirty minded fiends. But those men and women sometimes have what can be looked at as an addiction or a habit that is accept and promoted today. Pornography is not just smut, it can be clean. “Pornography can be seen as a vile act in church but others see the use as something healthy” (McKay).
Film was meant to show the traditions and customs of specific cultures to the rest of the world. However, because of Hollywood's need for a large market to sell a movie ...
Siva, Manu. Difference in Cultural Values. India Today (20) 3. 45-48 Retrieved April 03, 2006
...f cheap culture by using flowery words but now the trend of vulgarity and the Punjabi culture in the films are changed and film makers have tried their best to attract the audience towards this industry again. If the scripts of films are related to reality like the novel which are based on drams are getting highest applause from the audience then the dying industry again gain its position and popularity.